The season of love is filled with bouquets of roses, boxes of chocolate and sentimental letters between couples to express their affection for each other. The conventional idea of romantic love often takes precedence throughout this time frame every year in February. There is a lot of pressure surrounding Valentine’s Day.
As the famous line from “Love Actually” goes, “If you look for it, I have a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” Love comes in many forms, one of them being the bonds of female friendship.
Galentine’s Day is an unofficial holiday that takes place every year on Feb. 13. The holiday commemorates friendship by showing a deep appreciation for the gals you have in your life. The origins of this concept come from the TV sitcom “Parks and Recreation” in 2010. Leslie Knope, played by the hilarious Amy Poehler, created a day to have an excuse to celebrate her girlfriends: “Ladies celebrating ladies.”
Since this Galentine’s Day episode, the holiday has taken off and people around the world come up with different, unique ideas to celebrate! There’s something for every kind of girl gang– everyone is different and doesn’t need to fit exactly in any of the following categories, so pick and choose activities from each.
For the “cozy girls”: If you and your girls are the type to just want to “chill,” wear comfy pjs and grab some popcorn! There are many fun movies that fit the season such as “50 First Dates,” “The Notebook,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “Valentine’s Day.” Make the night interesting with the game “For the Girls.” Bake some cookies and craft some Valentine’s Day themed drinks, for instance, the “Love Potion.” Tell each of your friends to make their own personal charcuterie board to bring to the function. For example, you could create a candy salad board, a Chick-fil-a board or even an Italian antipasto board.
For the “girly girls”: Treat yourself and your girlfriends with a spa day! Go get some mani pedis at a local salon such as Ceci’s or Grand Design Nails. Pick out a red or pink color to channel the Valentine’s vibes. After getting dolled up, there are many places around town to go out to eat. If your girls are early birds, brunch spots like Terrain in Westport and the Little Goose Cafe right here in Fairfield have delicious food. If you’re more the night owl crew, check out amazing culinary restaurants in Fairfield such as The Sinclair, Sophie’s Pizza Bar, or Sonia’s Gourmet Kitchen.
For the “artsy girls”: A while ago on Tik Tok, an activity consisting of switching paintings every 5 minutes became popular. As each 5 minute timer goes off, no one knows what the others will choose to paint. This activity will keep an element of surprise to your Galentine’s Day. The more people, the better. Some other creative ideas are painting the person across the table from you, a tote bag, or a bamboo glass cup. If you and your friends want a light art option, decorate heart shaped glass with beads!
For the “sporty girls”: Workout classes are fun hobbies to spend time with friends. Fairfield’s RecPlex offers a variety of classes. This upcoming Galentine’s Day, the RecPlex is offering pilates, barre and spin. One spin class in particular is featuring break up anthems! Check out the IMLeagues Fairfield app to sign up.
I asked a few of our own Fairfield gals if they had any Galentine’s Day traditions for celebrating the day with their friends. First year Keira Hagerty shared, “Usually to celebrate Galentine’s Day I hang out with my friends and we cook or bake something. We would also play some board games together. Hopefully, this is something I can keep doing in college with my new friends!”
First year Stephanie Stathoudakis has said “I’m baking with friends. We will exchange surprise Valentine’s gifts and do each other’s makeup. I will also be dressing up for the occasion.”
First year Sydney Lundt has expressed that “My friends and I typically dress up, eat good food and simply enjoy each other’s company. For actual Valentine’s Day, my family has a tradition of making chocolate covered strawberries.”
This Galentine’s Day, grab your friends and celebrate! It is a blessing to have formative female friendships in your life. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, this day is all about the girls. No matter if you’re a cozy girl, girly girl, artsy girl, or sporty girl, the most important thing is spending quality time with your friends. Happy Galentine’s!
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